Article: outcomes over optics - building inclusive organizations

• Businesses that focus on maximizing the potential of each of their employees win in the market
• Canada’s future success and prosperity depends on the success of businesses of all shapes and sizes
• Becoming a truly inclusive organization requires courage, organizations must choose to fundamentally change their culture, their way of acting and being
• Businesses need to shift mindsets from having differences in their firms and markets to uniting of differences
• Courageous organizations perform better; inclusion is critical to building more courageous organizations
• The way we speak and think about diversity and inclusion has evolved dramatically over the years but the way businesses address the issue has not
• Many diversity programs do not actually improve diversity or inclusion, businesses must move beyond counting and comparing differences based on demographic traits or socio-cultural identities
• Diversity and inclusion will not be achieved until our approaches aim to change the organization at its core
• Millennials (the inclusion generation) will change the Canadian workforce
• The changing nature of work will force all organizations to reimagine what it means to be diverse and inclusive
• Important to capitalize on diverse voices and perspectives and to nurture courage

Five actions to help move from optics to outcomes today

1. Set expectations for specific, inclusive leadership behaviours
2. Protect against the diversity backlash
3. Empower the Inclusion Generation to prepare for the future of work
4. Don’t leave future inclusion issues for future generations to solve
5. Own inclusion inside and outside the office

Highly inclusive companies drive economic growth by:

• Being prepared to weather the storm
• Delivering financial performance
• Bringing Canada to the world
• Challenging the status quo
• Growing and thriving

Important distinction between diversity and inclusion:

• Diversity is the variety of people and ideas within an organization, easily identifiable physical attributes (age, gender, race, ethnicity) and less visible traits (education, income, experiences)
• Inclusion is about creating an environment where all individuals feel valued and connected, regardless of differences

Framework for developing an inclusive organization:

• Leaders who drive a sense of belonging through the organization
• People who are actively engaged in the values, vision and mission
• A shared purpose and long-term vision beyond economic growth